Awards

Outstanding volunteers, institutions and corporations were honored at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service for their commitment to service and civic engagement.

Congratulations to the following award winners:

Corporate Engagement Awards of Excellence

▪▪ Cisco

▪▪ IBM

▪▪ McKesson

Corporate Volunteer Council Awards

▪▪ The Corporate Volunteer Council of Central New Mexico

▪▪ Trident United Way’s Corporate Volunteer Council

President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll

▪▪ Augsburg College

▪▪ Rollins College

▪▪ San Francisco State University

▪▪ Loyola University Chicago

▪▪ St. Mary’s University

▪▪ California State University Monterey Bay

2011 Eli Segal Award

▪▪ Hope Grows Farm

2011 Service Impact Award

▪▪ Experience Corps

▪▪ Juliana Chosana Ko

▪▪ The Cesar Chavez Foundation – Si Se Puede Learning Center

The George W. Romney Excellence Award 2011

▪▪ Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin

2011 Champion of Inspiration Award

▪▪ generationOn Youth Advisory Council

▪▪ Chip Chappelle

▪▪ HandsOn Tokyo

▪▪ Natalie Snider

▪▪ Brendon Barclay

▪▪ Camo Quilt Project

2011 Service Impact Award

▪▪ The Red Cross Ready! Tennessee Rural Initiative

▪▪ Norman Moeller Missoula Aging Services RSVP

▪▪ Resource Youthbuild Burlington, Vt.

▪▪ Earl Millet, Jr. Civic Works

▪▪ Grace Hill Settlement House AmeriCorps Ranger Project

▪▪ RSVP Members at VFW Post 1739, Belleville, Il.

Paying it Forward: New Orleans Style

Just

before NCVS kicked off, Mayor Mitch Landrieu joined conference officials to “send-off” a team of locals to Joplin, Mo.

Led by Greg Reggio and the Taste Buds, a local culinary company, and under the heading of “Three Chefs: One Mission,” the group set off to aid the victims of the devastating tornado that took the lives of 138 people and destroyed almost 40 percent of the city.

Among the conference officials joining Mayor Landrieu were Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light Institute, and director of AmeriCorps John Gomperts.

The contingent, including a caravan of refrigerated trucks, trailers, cooking equipment, tents, generators, buses and a music stage, left from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans and provided more than 1,000 people with fresh Louisiana seafood.

“These New Orleanians are true champions of service,” said Mayor Landrieu. “We know what the good people of Joplin are facing; we’ve been where they are.”

The team, including restaurant partners from the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, musician Amanda Shaw and volunteers, left for Joplin in the spirit of Paying it Forward.

Conference Highlights

Innovate to Educate: Community Solutions for Education Success

This signature conference event, sponsored by Target, highlighted innovative, citizen-driven solutions that are helping address the challenges facing America’s education system. It showcased inspiring examples of community-based engagement that have resulted in tangible results for schools and students nationwide. Attendees enjoyed a passionate opening by featured speaker Soledad O’Brien, award-winning journalist and anchor for CNN’s special investigations unit, as well as stories from community leaders who are collectively leading the charge for innovative education solutions. The session concluded with a surprise performance by musical duo and sisters, Martie Maguire and Emily Robinson of the Court Yard Hounds.

Lending a Hand in New Orleans through Service

NCVS served as the final stop on University of Phoenix’s six-month Road to the Gulf program. With the time, talent and resources of up to 700 NCVS participants, local volunteers and the continued support of University of Phoenix, 25 parks and recreation centers across the city of New Orleans were revitalized. Efforts were focused on four signature park restoration projects at Sam Bonart Park, Bunny Friend Park, Village de l’est Park and Evans Park. At each park, volunteers installed new playground equipment, repaired basketball courts, installed sideline benches, built soccer fields, installed lighting and beautified the parks to help them become jewels within their neighborhoods. At Sam Bonart Park, the only park within the Lower Ninth Ward, a low-income area devastated by Hurricane Katrina, the action caught the attention of local children, who lent a hand in the transformation of their playground, which has been largely unavailable since the storm.

Citizen Solutions for Economic Opportunity

Fostering

and advancing economic opportunities in under-resourced communities is a constant challenge. Some communities have found success drawing on existing resources and the power of volunteers. At this session, sponsored by Chase, Diahann Billings-Burford, chief service officer for New York City; David Eisner, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center; and MSNBC contributor and The Grio.com chief correspondent Jeff Johnson discussed practices of asset-based community development and case studies of successful community programs. You can relive the excitement of our signature plenaries at

www.volunteeringandservice.org

2011 NCVS Opening Session ReCap

The 2011 National Conference on Volunteering and Service (NCVS), which took place in New Orleans, June 6 – 8, provided more than 4,600 Champions of Service with the opportunity to learn, connect and be inspired through a range of plenary sessions, workshops, special events, service projects and more.

Convened by Points of Light Institute and the Corporation for National and Community Service, the conference showcased the city of New Orleans as a laboratory for social innovation in areas reaching far beyond disaster recovery.

Since 2005, millions of volunteers have helped address the city’s educational challenges, economic development issues and government leadership.

NCVS provided an opportunity to pay tribute to the impact of volunteerism on the revitalization of the city, demonstrating the critical role of service in improving communities and our nation at large.

The 2011 National Conference on Volunteering and Service kicked off in style with a live marching band ushering in 100 champions of service.

These service leaders set the stage for a jazz-packed opening session that celebrated luminaries like civil rights pioneer Ruby Bridges and jazz legend Branford Marsalis, explored the role that service continues to play in revitalizing the city of New Orleans, and entertained us with the music of New Orleans, including the soulful sounds of Bob French and the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band.

We heard Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s heartfelt thanks to volunteers for helping bring New Orleans back.

Laysha Ward, president of the Target Foundation, showed us Target’s great work in the community and ABC News’ Deborah Roberts moderated a spirited conversation with political consultants James Carville and Mary Matalin on the power of volunteerism and the resilience of New Orleans.

CEO of Points of Light Institute Michelle Nunn said,

“Now, more than ever, we need service champions – super-empowered citizens who are utilizing new, more powerful tools for change. We expect this year’s conference to deliver those tools.”

Conference attendees were immersed in the spirit of New Orleans at the “Only in New Orleans” kick-off party, sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company with support from Entergy.

Attendees took in the art, music and food of this magical city, while gaining an opportunity to learn and share with one another.

Service Leaders Honored as “Champions of Service” at 2011 National Conference on Volunteering and Service

The Closing Session of the 2011 National Conference on Volunteering and Service was a fitting end to a great Conference in which it honored Champions of Inspiration for the transformational work they are doing throughout the globe.

We presented the Eli Segal Award, honoring an outstanding AmeriCorps Alum who embodies the essence of citizen service, and the George W. Romney Excellence Award, honoring the outstanding work of a Points of Light HandsOn Network affiliate. Six additional Champions of Inspiration were highlighted for their commitment to their communities and the world at large.

“Now, more than ever, we need service champions – super-empowered citizens who are utilizing new, more powerful tools for change,” said Michelle Nunn, CEO of Points of Light Institute. “These individuals embody that spirit and serve as inspiration to us all.”

2011 honorees included:

2011 Eli Segal Award

• Hope Grows Farm: AmeriCorps alumni Arianne McGinnis and Elliott McGann abandoned comfortable career paths to create Hope Grows, a six-and-a-half-acre sustainable farm in southeast Georgia that produces food for more than 150 families. Each season, Arianne and Elliott teach 10 part-time apprentices and host hundreds of service learners eager to get their hands dirty. They regularly invite volunteers and community members to the farm to feast on good ideas and food.

2011 The George W. Romney Excellence Award

• Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin: Two years ago, Farrell Swain moved out of a homeless shelter in Marin County, Calif. Wanting to give back, Farrell became a volunteer with the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership of Marin (CVNL) He took part in their Flex Projects which are designed to make it easy to “get HandsOn” and participate in meeting community needs. In 2010 alone, CVNL connected more than 8,000 area residents to  service, a 28 percent jump from the previous year.

2011 Champion of Inspiration Award

• generationOn Youth Advisory Council: Service is a “now” opportunity, and generationOn’s Youth Advisory Council is taking advantage of this opportunity. These 10 outstanding youth prove there is no age requirement for role models: Jacob Bernstein, D’Andrielle Chee, Milton Dimas, Joshua “Clay” Hurdle, Mohit Jain, Rachel Ley, Lance Oppenheim, Rachel Shuster, Malaika Worsham, Liu Zhen Huang. As Council members, they have two main jobs:  teaching their peers how to lead their own projects by creating and shaping tools and guides and educating by example as service ambassadors who share their stories in local communities and on the national stage. generationOn is the youth division of Points of Light Institute.

• Chip Chappelle, UPS: It may not make headlines, but logistics make the difference between dreaming and doing. Such logistical know-how was critically important when Haiti suffered its devastating earthquake in January 2010. UPS transportation manager Chip Chappelle immediately offered his logistical experience. Within 48 hours, Chip and his colleagues activated a plan to get life-saving food, water and medical supplies into the hands of Haitian children and their families. With Chip’s expert coordination, more than 50 humanitarian aid organizations from all corners of the globe have relied on UPS to transport more than 15,000 cubic meters of non-food items to Haiti including water purification tablets, cholera medicine, tents, shoes and construction materials.

• Hands on Tokyo: In 2006, a group of friends launched HandsOn Tokyo to give back to their community. The organization has become a catalyst for a new service ethos across Japan. HandsOn Tokyo developed a volunteer clearinghouse to match people with projects in children’s homes, elderly living facilities, schools for the blind and other places where compassion needs no translation. In response to the March 11 earthquake, HandsOn Tokyo has mobilized hundreds of volunteers and continues to deliver much needed supplies including 20,000 clean towels, 30,000 toothbrushes, comfy blankets, slippers, socks and other items that help people care for themselves and each other.

• Natalie Snider: As science director for the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Natalie Snider works to protect our uniquely vulnerable ecosystem. Natalie leads volunteer teams to restore coastal wetlands through plantings, sand fence installations and beach cleanups. In 2010 alone, her program engaged more than 1,800 volunteers from 37 states and three different countries to rehabilitate more than 80 acres of Louisiana’s marshy, muddy, erosion-prone, wildlife rich and precious shoreline. Natalie also generates advocacy through education, providing more than 40,000 volunteers with the information they need to speak knowledgably about wetlands protection issues, empowering them to go out and make the case for large-scale projects in Louisiana and elsewhere.

• Brendon Barclay: Through his Atlanta-based service learning organization, Sustaining Urban Villages, AmeriCorps Alum Brendon Barclay advocates for green-space, transforming schoolyard green-spaces and urban forests into outdoor classrooms for students of all ages. His projects brought together more than 1,000 volunteers last year, restoring school yard habitats and urban parks.

• Camo Quilt Project: Linda Wieck is an example of the power of personal outreach and support to military troops around the world. Linda showed this kind of support to her son-in-law, Todd, in 2006 when she made him her first camo quilt prior to his deployment in Iraq. Since then, hundreds of volunteers have joined Linda on national days of service like Make A Difference Day to send quilts to soldiers. To date, more than 10,000 handmade quilts have been sewn and donated to troops.